Equal Access to Justice Act Hot Topic Update

To read previous Hot topic story click here

Business Leaders Applaud Effort To Require Disclosure of Taxpayer Subsidies to Lawyers Who Sue Government

Bipartisan Legislation Introduced in Congress Yesterday “A Small But Important Step Toward Long-Overdue Legal Reform”

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 4, 2010) — Wealthy activist groups that sue the government and then force taxpayers to pick up the tab for their attorneys’ fees would now have those taxpayer subsidies disclosed to the public under legislation jointly introduced by Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House this week.

The Western Business Roundtable applauded the bipartisan measure, called the “Open Equal Access to Justice Act of 2010,” which was jointly introduced today by U.S. Reps. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) and Rob Bishop (R-UT).

“The bill would further President Obama’s commitment to greater ‘transparency’ in government by giving taxpayers more information on how their tax dollars are being spent,” said Jim Sims, President and CEO of the Western Business Roundtable.  “There are few government programs that can’t be improved by shining the disinfecting light of public disclosure on how taxpayer funds are spent, and the Equal Access to Justice Act is clearly one of them.”

The original intent of the Equal Access To Justice Act (EAJA), enacted in 1980, was to help individuals and organizations with limited means seek judicial redress from the federal government by allowing them to recover the legal fees and expenses when they sue the government and win.  However, in recent years, a small handful of wealthy activist organizations have “milked” the program for many millions of dollars, according to government spending watchdog groups.

While there is no official government accounting of how many taxpayer dollars go to fund these lawsuits, a recent study led by Karen Budd-Falen, a Wyoming attorney, found that, over the past 15 years, more than a dozen environmental groups have brought over 1,500 federal cases in 17 states and the District of Columbia and collected more than $37 million in taxpayer dollars through EAJA or other similar laws.

“The Equal Access to Justice Act is a good example of a well-intentioned program that has been badly abused,” Sims said.  “In many ways, it has helped to fuel the modern ‘environmental litigation industry.’  A very good case can be made that these tax dollars are funding some of the most effective job-killing efforts in America today.”

“At a minimum, this use of tax dollars should be subjected to the disinfecting light of public disclosure, which is what this bill does,” he added.

The proposed legislation would not bar continued reimbursements to individual and groups under the EAJA, but would instead:

• Reinstate and consolidate tracking and reporting requirements of EAJA payments under the Department of Justice (DoJ).
   
• Require the DoJ to issue an annual, online report to Congress regarding the amount of fees and other expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal year.
   
• Ensure that the report provided to Congress be made available to the public online and include:
   
  • the name of the party seeking the award of fees;
     
  • the agency to which the application for the award is made;
     
  • the name of the administrative judges involved in the case; and
     
  • the hourly fees of all attorneys and expert witnesses.
     
• Request that the Comptroller General commence an audit of past actions taken under the Equal Access to Justice Act. Once complete, the audit must be reported to Congress.

“We are pleased to see Congress taking steps towards ending the abuse of this law,” Sims said. “Representatives Cynthia Lummis, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Rob Bishop and the others pushing this legislation are heroes of the taxpayers for their work on this issue.”

Michelle Hindmarch
Western Business Roundtable
303-577-4611
michelle@wbrt.org

About the Roundtable:
The Western Business Roundtable is a unique organization comprised of CEOs and senior executives of organizations doing business in the Western United States.  Founded more than 35 years ago, the Western Business Roundtable is a activist coalition of companies and associations doing business both in the U.S. and abroad.  Our members are involved in industry as varied as agricultural products, accounting, chemicals, coal, construction and construction materials, conventional and renewable energy production, energy services, engineering services, environmental services, financial services, Internet technologies, manufacturing, mining, nuclear power, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, pipelines, telecommunications, and public and investor-owned utilities.